WestSide Baby came into existence to fill a vital need. We came
into existence because our community came together to give their time, their
money, and items their child had outgrown so that another child might grow and
thrive, healthy and happy. We came into existence to connect resource to need
in our community.

As we look forward to
re-emerging, the community need that drives our existence will shape who we are
constantly becoming.

In the midst of COVID, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our community’s resources, of those who give because they can, because it is needed, and because they believe that every child deserves to have their most basic human needs honored. We have also been overwhelmed by the unmet need in our community. Before COVID, within communities of color, up to 75 percent of families were experiencing difficulty affording enough clean diapers & other basic essentials for their children.

We have been faced with unprecedented need just as our usual way of operating is no longer feasible during a pandemic.

When we can’t go back to how we used to be when we don’t want to return to an inequitable past, how do we proceed?

We have the rare opportunity to design a better normal. As we walk this path toward an uncertain future, our mission to meet a vital community need is still our North Star, and the things we value most are our compass; together they guide each step forward.

Our Map: What is guiding our re-emergence?

Last year, we defined our WestSide Baby Community to help us focus our work and impact. “Families experiencing unmet basic needs” will drive our priorities as we re-emerge, while “those who come together with the shared purpose of addressing this inequity” will be engaged to give what is needed most.

Our WestSide Baby value of Humanity will focus our re-emergence on the experience of unmet basic needs, on bearing witness to the wisdom and resilience borne of this experience;

Our WestSide Baby Intentional value will focus our re-emergence on adapting and making decisions that center the greatest needs.